Catalytic Deactivation of HY Zeolites in the Dehydration of Glycerol to Acrolein

The study of the deactivation of HY zeolites in the dehydration reaction of glycerol to acrolein has represented a challenge for the design of new catalysts. HY zeolites with SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratios between 3.5 and 80 were studied. The solids were characterized by XRD, N2 physisorption, SEM-EDXS, Raman and UV-vis spectroscopies, infrared spectroscopy of pyridine (FTIR-Py) and catalytic activity tests from 250 °C to 325 °C. It was found that the total amount of acid sites per unit area of catalyst decreased as the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio increased from 3.5 to 80, resulting in the decrease in the initial glycerol conversion. The initial acrolein selectivity was promoted with the increase of the Brønsted/Lewis acid sites ratio at any reaction temperature. The deactivation tests showed that the catalyst lifetime depended on the pore structure, improving with the presence of large surface areas as evidenced by the deactivation rate constants. The characterization of the deactivated catalysts by XRD, N2 physisorption and thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the deposition of coke resulted in the total obstruction of micropores and the partial blockage of mesopores. Moreover, the presence of large mesopores and surface areas allowed the amount of coke deposited at the catalyst surface to be reduced.

Interpretation of the mechanism of 3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-diamino diphenylmethane synthesis over HY zeolites

Catalytic activities of zeolites HY, Hβ and HZSM-5 in the heterogeneous synthesis of 3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl methane (MOCA) from o-chloroaniline and formaldehyde were pre-screened in an autoclave, and HY demonstrated better performance than others.

Optimized Pore Structures of Hierarchical HY Zeolites for Highly Selective Production of Methyl Methoxyacetate

Several organic templates were introduced during acid or alkaline treatment to optimize pore structures of hierarchical HY zeolites. The influences of category and concentration of templates on the pore structures and acidity of hierarchical HY zeolites were systemically studied. The N2 adsorption-desorption showed that the micropore amount of the optimized HY zeolites obviously increased, while both the large mesopore size and amount remained almost unchanged. The XRD and NH3-TPD revealed that the optimized HY zeolites exhibited higher relative crystallinity and medium-strong acid sites amount than those of hierarchical HY zeolites produced without the addition of templates. The optimized HY zeolites were used for the synthesis of methyl methoxyacetate (MMAc) from dimethoxymethane (DMM) carbonylation. In comparison with parent HY, the conversion and the selectivity clearly increased from 36.43% to 96.32% and from 11.06% to 92.35%, respectively. The stability of the optimized zeolite was also conducted under the same conditions. The conversion and the selectivity remained nearly unchanged even through 24 h reaction, showing that the performance was extremely stable. The TG-DTA and GC-MS also indicated that the generation of coke was effectively inhibited. This catalyst treatment method, which is facile and highly efficient, provided a route for producing mesoporous zeolites.